ant tongue of
Tuscany, and accompanied by a few pastoral instruments.

TO A SEA-NYMPH

O nymph! who loves to float on the green wave,
When Neptune sleeps beneath the moon-light hour,
Lull'd by the music's melancholy pow'r,
O nymph, arise from out thy pearly cave!

For Hesper beams amid the twilight shade,
And soon shall Cynthia tremble o'er the tide,
Gleam on these cliffs, that bound the ocean's pride,
And lonely silence all the air pervade.

Then, let thy tender voice at distance swell,
And steal along this solitary shore,
Sink on the breeze, till dying--heard no more--
Thou wak'st the sudden magic of thy shell.

While the long coast in echo sweet replies,
Thy soothing strains the pensive heart beguile,
And bid the visions of the future smile,
O nymph! from out thy pearly cave--arise!

(Chorus)--ARISE!
(Semi-chorus)--ARISE!

The last words being repeated by the surrounding group, the garland of
flowers was thrown into the waves, and the chorus, sinking gradually
into a chant, died away in silence.

'What can this mean, Maddelina?' said Emily, awakening from the pleasing
trance, into which the music had lulled her. 'This is the eve of a
festival, Signora,' replied Maddelina; 'and the peasants then amuse
themselves with all kinds of sports.'

'But they talked of a sea-nymph,' said Emily: 'how came these good
people to think of a sea-nymph?'

'O, Signora,' rejoined Maddelina, mistaking the reason of Emily's
surprise, 'nobody BELIEVES in such things, but our old songs tell of
them, and, when we are at our sports, we sometimes sing to them, and
throw garlands into the sea.'

Emily had been early taught to venerate Florence as the seat of
literature and of the fine arts; but, that its taste for classic story
should descend to the peasants of the country, occasioned her both
surprise and admiration. The Arcadian air of the girls next attracted
her attention. Their dress was a very short full petticoat of light
green, with a boddice of white silk; the sleeves loose, and tied up at
the shoulders with ribbons and bunches of flowers. Their hair, falling
in ringlets on their necks, was also ornamented with flowers, and with a
small straw hat, which, set rather backward and on one side of the head,
gave an expression of gaiety and smartness to the whole figure. When
the song had concluded, several of these girls approached Emily, and,
inviting her to sit down among them, offered her, and Mad